Of The Hour Apes

[From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No. 10,477, sheet 24).]

The overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, Nu, triumphant, the
son of the overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, Amen-hetep,
triumphant, saith:

“Hail, ye four apes who sit in the bows of the boat of Rā, who convey
right and truth to Neb-er-tcher, who sit in judgment on my misery and on
my strength, who make the gods to rest contented by means of the flame of
your mouths, who offer holy offerings to the gods and sepulchral meals to
the _khu_s, who live upon right and truth, and who feed upon right and
truth of heart, who are without deceit and fraud, and to whom wickedness
is an abomination, do ye away with my evil deeds, and put ye away my sin
[which deserved stripes upon earth, and destroy ye any evil whatsoever
that belongeth unto me],(110) and let there be no obstacle whatsoever on
my part toward you. Oh, grant ye that I may make my way through the
underworld (_ammehet_), let me enter into Re-stau, let me pass through the
hidden pylons of Amentet. Oh, grant that there may be given to me cakes,
and ale, and sweetmeats(?), even as [they are given] to the living _khu_s,
and grant that I may enter in and come forth from Re-stau.”

“[The four apes make answer, saying], ‘Come, then, for we have done away
with thy wickedness, and we have put away thy sin, along with the [sin
deserving of] stripes which thou [didst commit] upon earth, and we have
destroyed [all] the evil which belonged to thee upon the earth. Enter,
therefore, into Re-stau, and pass thou through the hidden pylons of
Amentet, and there shall be given unto thee cakes, and ale, and
sweetmeats(?), and thou shalt come forth and thou shalt enter in at thy
desire, even as do those _khu_s who are favored [of the god], and thou
shalt be proclaimed (or called) each day in the horizon.’ ”